CHICAGO -- Chris Getz knows the White Sox.
He was selected by the team in the fourth round of the 2005 Draft out of the University of Michigan. The second baseman started for the White Sox in '09, hitting .261 with two home runs, 31 RBIs and 25 stolen bases, before being traded to the Royals with Josh Fields for third baseman Mark Teahen and playing against the South Siders.
And as of Friday, Getz officially will be lending his expertise to the White Sox again as the organization's new director of player development. Getz replaces Nick Capra, who became the third-base coach as part of manager Rick Renteria's first White Sox staff.
Getz, 33, retired early on during the 2014 season after playing parts of seven seasons with the White Sox, Royals and Blue Jays. He was named baseball operations assistant in player development for the Royals on Jan. 5, 2015, and he assisted in Minor League operations and player personnel decisions.
During a Friday conference call, Getz admitted to be pleasantly surprised when the White Sox gauged his interest for the new position. He's starting to learn the system, but he'll get a crash course over the next few weeks through organizational meetings, a trip to the team's academy in the Dominican Republic and another trip to the Arizona Fall League.
"It's really a great feeling because it's obviously a place where I got my career started," said Getz of his White Sox return. "I went through the Minor Leagues, big leagues.
"Chicago became a home to me, and really that whole process, the relationships I was able to build, it was something that will always be in my heart, something that always will be in my DNA. So when this opportunity arose to get back to Chicago and be a part of the White Sox organization ... there was a great appeal."
Capra spent the last five of his 22 seasons with the White Sox in charge of the Minor Leagues. He moved to the Major League coaching ranks, along with Curt Hasler as the new bullpen coach, leaving the player development opportunity vacant for Getz.
"We are pleased to add Chris' intellect, background and energy to our front office," said White Sox senior vice president and general manager Rick Hahn in Friday's release. "He is extremely well-regarded throughout the game, and we believe he is going to have a positive impact on the quality of play from rookie ball through Chicago."
Working as part of the Royals' front office, Getz gained a better understanding of the importance of player development and what it really entails. He's ready to share that vision with the White Sox.
"What I think it is is carrying out the vision of the scouts," Getz said. "The players are identified by the scouts, and then they are brought in, and it's a commitment by both the player and staff members to create an environment for that player to reach their ceiling. It's a daily process. It's very task oriented. It's focused on what's in front of you.
"Player development people are trying to get the player better every single day. With that being said, the staff members need to be creative in their thinking. They need to be innovative at times. They need to know when to press the gas or pump the brakes. They need to be versatile in all these different areas."